Roman Peter Sobranie

I ordered this house blend of Roman Peter (a renowned pipe maker in Switzerland) together with several tins of various brands, because I wanted to try the presumably heaviest and strongest English of his house blends, given its overwhelming, steeped in history name of “Sobranie”.

The name of this blend is misleading. To me this is rather a Black Cavendish mixture with a smoky and spicy twist, than an English mixture.

For me, there is far too much of sweet Black Cavendish in this blend. I cannot taste any Virginia flavours. On the other hand, I can perceive an obvious, spicy flavour that must come from Balkans / Orientals (Samsun, Smyrna/Izmir ?) without being able to identify them in detail. Looked at it this way, it contains an important “English element”. It could even be possible that there is a tad of Perique in this mixture, as after about a third of the bowl I taste a restrained peppery sharpness in my nose on retro-hale.

Since I expected a vintage-style, heavy, deep-digging English mixture from a blend called “Sobranie”, I am quite disappointed. I can only repeat: To me, this is rather a Black Cavendish mixture with a smoky and spicy twist, than an English mixture.

I cannot detect cavendish in this mixture. Roman Peter lists Virginia, Orient, Latakia, and Perique, and this is what I smell and taste. One of my favorite blends. I like "heavier" English mixtures. This one meets my expectations. Full, smoky flavor, nuanced, not unidimensional. In my rotation since years. I like to age the tobacco a bit, seems to round it.